Judge slams father of teenage driver, 19, for 'overindulging' him and taking ... trends now
A judge has slammed the father of a teenage driver who killed two friends while speeding for 'overindulging' his son after he took the blame for his speeding ticket months before the crash.
Owain Hammett-George was 17 when he drove at speeds of up to 78mph on a 30mph road in his £21,000 Alfa Romeo which was bought for him by his father, a businessman, for passing his driving test.
The court heard how the teenager crashed the powerful car - which was complete with a personalised number plate reading OW11 AAN - only three months after passing his test.
His friends, Ben Rogers and Kaitlyn Davies, both 19, were killed instantly, while Casey Thomas, then aged 17, sustained life-changing injuries during the incident on the B4436 in Bishopston, Swansea, on May 31 2022.
Hammett-George, now 19, from Birchgrove, Swansea, was jailed for six years at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday after admitting to causing death by dangerous driving, and of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Owain Hammett-George, who was 17 at the time, from Birchgrove, Swansea, was jailed for six years at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday
Dewi George, 47, (pictured) was jailed after he took the blame for speeding so his newly qualified driver son could avoid points. The judge at the time warned George his son had 'not learnt a lesson' as a result
Emergency services rushe to the scene on Northway petrol station in Bishopston, Gower, (pictured) at 11pm on May 31 2022
Following the collision, it emerged that Hammett-George had been caught speeding just a week after passing his test in February 2022, but his father Dewi George took the blame to avoid him getting points on his licence.
The court heard Dewi George had claimed he was driving the Alfa Romeo on February 28 2022 - seven days after his son passed his test - when it was caught travelling at 35mph in a 30mph limit in Swansea.
Following the fatal accident, police investigated the speeding offence and found George had been working in Cardiff at that time.
He was jailed for four months in July 2023 after admitting perverting the course of justice. The judge at the time warned George his son had 'not learnt a lesson' as a result.
Judge Geraint Walters, sentencing Hammett-George, said: 'You were nowhere near ready to be entrusted with a motor car at the time that you were.
'You are immature and, in my judgment on the facts of this case as I read it, are overindulged by your parents.
'That in part is a factor in the fact that you are sitting there in front of me at the moment.
'You were overindulged - a car before you were fit to have one, out late in the evening with other youngsters in the car.
'Your parents were aware of the potential danger because there are messages passing between you and other family members that says so.
'Within a very short period of passing your test, that you were to be prosecuted for speeding - albeit for a modest increase in that case - it was a sense of what might be coming.
'The greatest act of indulgence is to take the responsibility for your conduct onto the shoulders of your own father.'
The court heard Hammett-George had collected Miss Davies and Miss Thomas from work in Swansea at about 10pm.
George (right) was the registered keeper of the car and his son was insured to drive it
The father accepted the points to protect 17-year-old Owain Hammett-George's driving licence after he was caught speeding in his father's Alfa Romeo
Kaitlyn Davies, 19, was killed instantly when her friend crashed on the B4436 in Bishopston, Swansea, on May 31, 2022
Ben Rogers, 19, was also killed instantly when the Alfa Romeo crashed into a concrete pillar by one of the pumps at Northway petrol station at about 11pm
Casey Thomas, managed to survive the crash but said it has caused her to be 'never the same outgoing person I was before the crash'
He was driving on the B4436 when he lost control of the car, which left the road, landed on its roof and then crashed into a concrete pillar by one of the pumps at Northway petrol station at about 11pm.
Hammett-George, along with Mr Rogers and Miss Davies, were ejected from the vehicle.
The defendant was not wearing a seatbelt, but had it buckled underneath him to stop the warning sounding when the incident took place.
Passing motorists and local residents immediately came to the aid of those injured, including administering CPR to Mr Rogers and Miss Davies, but their injuries were not survivable.
Prosecuting, Ian Wright said the vehicle was 'unrecognisable' after the crash, with its engine block situated 15 metres away.
'The scene described is one of utter devastation,' Mr Wright told the court.
Hammett-George, who also sustained serious injuries in the collision, told officers at the scene: 'I was doing 60 and I hit a
